Moments In Time
by EllaQueenB
Summary: Key moments in the Remus/Tonks relationship. A story of our fav characters told from the moment they met until their heartbreaking demise. CH1 Marauders babysit little Dora. Please R&R :D


**A/N:** Heya guys,

Ok this is sort of an expansion of my 2nd chappy of 15 Things, but it will totally make sense even if you haven't read it, I think. Anywayz this was sort of the necessary first chappy and it's more about the Marauders than Remus/Tonks but you can't really do too much R/T interaction when she's 4. But stick with it, I promise the next chapter will be better :D

**DISCLAIMER:** It's mine, it's all mine MWA –HA-HA-HA-(cough, cough) She stole it from, honestly she did (WARNING – I'm prone to lying about certain things, like ownership rights – hello I live in DENIAL :D)

**Dedicated to pet-munchkin and everybody else who lives in Denial (also to my nu-new fish Nym and Remmy)**

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**CHAPTER 1 – Meeting Dora**

The home of Andromeda and Ted Tonks was located at 29 Pillberry Court, a wizarding neighbourhood completely surrounded by muggle ones. It was a happy neighbourhood like every other suburb in the district and even though people who didn't live there suspected something odd about it, by the light of day you really couldn't tell the difference. Loud whoops of joy could be heard as children played happily in their yards, mothers caught up with each other in front of their houses as they watched on dutifully, neighbours waved to each other as they returned home to their families after a long day of work - but these were only superficial acts that everyone saw on the surface. If they bothered to look closer they would see the tell-tale signs - they would see the worried looks that crossed mothers faces as they talked in hushed conversations - discussing the latest family to disappear into the night, they'd see the momentary look of panic that filled them when someone new strolled down the pavement, they'd notice how something as simple as a car backfiring could send them all fleeing. The people who lived on this Court were always on edge but that was something people hardly ever saw because no-one bothered to look but it was at night when the real difference between this neighbourhood and the ones that surrounded shone through.

As soon as the sun disappeared upon the horizon the children's candid laughter all at once ceased, the once-happy inhabitants of Pillberry Court were nowhere to be seen. The streetlamps provided the only source of light, casting daring shadows on the streets below as everybody drew their curtains and shut the world away for the night, leaving the pristine lawns that foreshadowed their houses in complete darkness. Faint whispers of ancient incantations drifted along on the wind as men cast strong spells to help ensure the safety of their family but they didn't understand. It didn't matter how many wards you put up or how many protective spells you cast, nobody was safe anymore, not while the Dark Lord was in power.

Unlike the bustling suburbs that surrounded it that resonated with the noises of happy families throughout the night, Pillberry Court delved into complete silence once the moon rose. But the eerie sense of quiet that befell the street after dark was broken one clouded summer night by the unmistakeable sound of apparation. The curtains at several of the houses along the street rustled slightly as the inhabitants peeked out to get a better look at who was bold enough to apparate unannounced into a wizarding neighbourhood at 8 o'clock at night, as they tried to determine whether he held sinister motives.

The boy that had disturbed the once calm atmosphere looked to be about 17 and the apprehensive people that watched from their windows all breathed a sigh of relief when they realised that although he was unknown, he looked about as threatening as a 3 year old. The wind gently ruffled though his rich brown hair as he stood in the middle of the street, one hand curiously rubbing his chin whilst the other rested on his pants pocket. He glanced nervously around, trying desperately to determine where he was. Remus Lupin had only been to this street once before and that was during the day when things were much easier to see, but if he remembered correctly than the house he was looking for was at the end of the street. With a slight nod of his head as if to agree with the direction he spun around and with one hand still clutching to the pocket where his wand was stowed, he set off at a brisk pace towards his destination.

He had somehow been coaxed into helping his friend Sirius babysit for the night and he had grudgingly agreed only because it gave him a chance to catch up with his mates before school started back in a couple of weeks. He hadn't seen James, Peter or Sirius since school had finished but the mere thought of seeing them put a smile on his face and he quickened his pace. But that wasn't the only reason he sped up, he knew that it wasn't safe for someone like him to walk alone after dark in a wizarding neighbourhood, in fact it wasn't safe for a witch or wizard to be out after dark at all - just last night a young wizard had been killed in the middle of a muggle park.

The thought of such a cruel-hearted attack sent shivers running down his spine and he decided to jog the rest of the way, just to be on the safe-side. So with his hand still firmly on his wand he made his way towards the white house with blue trimmings at the end of the lane, towards his friends. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth when he arrived at his destination, he'd have known that this was Sirius' cousin's house even if there wasn't a sign that read 'Tonks' hanging from the letterbox. In fact the sign was a bit of a contradiction because everything about this house screamed 'Andromeda Black'. From the beautiful array of flowers in the garden to the perfectly manicured lawn, the whole house held an air of pretentious class and after meeting Ted Tonks, he was sure it hadn't come from him.

The little white wooden gate creaked on its hinges as he gently pushed it open and strode up the garden path towards the front door, the cobblestones crunching under his feet as he went. He was halfway up the path when startling crash from inside made him stop still in his tracks, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He inadvertently held his breath while he waited for something else to happen and when nothing did he thought that he'd imagined it, that his mind was playing tricks on him because he was so on edge. He slowly let out the breath he'd been holding but it caught in his throat when the noises started up again.

Loud banging noises resounded from inside the house and it was soon joined by the sound of glass smashing but it was the unmistakeable sound of a little girl's scream that brought him out of his stupor. His friends were under attack, that much was obvious, and he knew exactly what he should do – he should've gone for help, informed the authorities, waited for the Aurors to arrive - but he also knew that if he waited it would all be over before anyone would come to help. All thoughts of going for help or sending up an emergency signal flew out of his mind however when he heard his friends voice yell out pleading 'Please just stop' and so as he pulled his wand out of his pocket and charged up the stone steps, without a thought to his own personal safety. He hesitated for just a second at the top, an icy feeling flowing into his stomach as images of what he might find on the other side flitted into his mind, but he swallowed the lump that was growing in his throat and he opened the heavy oak door, raising his wand a little higher before stepping inside.

The scene that greeted him on the other side was far worse than he expected and his eyes grew wide as he surveyed the damage. The once-pristine Victorian inspired living room now lay in ruins – the ice-white wooden chaise longue had been tipped on its side, foam stuffing littered the floor from the throw cushions, fragments of the expensive porcelain table lamp lay on the ground amongst the pieces of the broken end table, glass from the photo frames that had been knocked off of the mantle glinted in the oriental rug and the walls where covered in the horrid red colour of blood. A horrified whimper unconsciously escaped him before he took a deep breath to steel himself and started to search for his friends. The sound of footsteps to his right caught his attention and out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a flash of pink just before it collided with him and it all went black.

"URGH"

He let out a disgruntled groan of pain as he lay flat on his back on the hard wooden floors, his head thudding along with his heartbeat. He fumbled around for his wand which had been knocked out of his hand and when he found it he grasped it firmly, ready to take on whatever evil force had collided with him. He struggled up into a sitting position and it was then that he finally saw what had knocked him over, a little girl wearing purple feety pyjama's, her hair rapidly changing colours from pink to blue to red to purple, was running away from him, a tall boy with jet black hair and a rather squat boy were trailing after her. The gruff sound of laughter caught his attention and he turned away from the odd scene in front of him to see a rather handsome young man with black hair and a pretentious smile swagger into the room, a playful glint shining in his eyes as if he found the whole situation thoroughly amusing.

"I see you've 'fallen' for my little cousin Moony. Can't say I'm surprised, she has a tendency to sweep guys off their feet."

He laughed along jovially at his own comments, completely ignoring the scowl he was receiving for it, as he offered his hand out to help Remus up.

"That crazy whirlwind of energy was your little cousin Sirius?"

Remus accepted his proffered hand and precariously raised himself to his feet, eyeing his friend curiously. Sirius just nodded his head in response, a proud smile gracing his handsome face.

"I thought you said she was quiet."

Sirius' smile faltered under Remus' unwavering gaze.

"Well, uh..."

"What else was it you said Padfoot, she'll be asleep by 8? Well its 8 now and I'm no expert but from what I just saw, she doesn't exactly look tired."

Remus wasn't really angry with Sirius because he wasn't completely naive and he knew that Sirius had been lying when he'd told them babysitting little Dora would be easy. He hadn't spent all that much time around 4-year-old's but he somehow figured that she'd be a handful, she was a blood-relative of Sirius' so how could she not be? But whilst he wasn't angry at his friend, it was hilarious to watch him squirm.

Sirius ducked his head sheepishly, raising his hand up to rub the back of his neck.

"Yeah well, she would've been but uh... You see, she was being a little pest earlier so me and James gave her some candy to shut her up and," he winced slightly as a loud crashing sound resounded through the house again, "well," he gestured to the destroyed living room, "she kind of went a little crazy."

Remus looked away from his friend and gazed out at the destruction he was pointing to. A frown creased along his forehead as he surveyed the scene, how on earth had she managed to tip a couch.

"She did all of that?"

He asked the question in a sceptical tone, one eyebrow arching up in disbelief. He couldn't stop the smirk that crept onto his face when he saw Sirius put his hands in his pockets and shrug in a defeated manner, it really was fun to make him squirm.

"Well not exactly, not all of it anyway. Me, James and Peter did some of it when we were chasing her round trying to catch her – little tyke thinks it's a game now."

Just at that moment little Dora came running round the corner, a familiar joyful grin lighting up her cute little face, her hair now a decided bright pink colour. The purple feety pj's she wore caused her to slip slightly on the hardwood floors and she bumped into the shelves as she ran past, causing one of the vases to fall. James, who was right behind her, fumbled a little as he tried to get a firm grasp on it but Peter came jogging slowly round the corner, puffing and panting out of breath, and he crashed into him sending the vase to the ground, shattering it upon impact. Sirius looked back at Remus.

"Uh, come to think of it – it was mainly Peter who caused the damage. He's as bloody clumsy as she is."

Loud raucous laughter came from both of them as they watched Peter run awkwardly down the hall before tripping and falling flat on his face.

"Yes but his clumsiness isn't quite as endearing as your little cousin's."

Remus managed to choke out the statement between bouts of laughter but the moment he said it Sirius sobered up immediately, the strong impassive look on his face completely belied by the amused glint in his eyes.

"Ah so you have 'fallen' for her then Moony if you find her clumsiness 'endearing'." Remus watched as Sirius struggled to keep the smirk off his face, "I know you haven't had a lot of luck with women mate, but I really don't think you should go for a younger girl."

Sirius finally cracked with the last comment but Remus simply shoved him hard in the chest so that he was pushed backwards. Sirius and James had been teasing him relentlessly about his love life, or lack thereof, since he started school so he knew there was no point in retaliating – it would just encourage them.

"Come on then, we'd better help them catch her."

His comment caused Sirius to burst out in fresh bouts of laughter.

"So you wanna play a little catch and kiss..." he trailed off when Remus shot him an unamused glare, "Alright, alright I'll stop... for now."

And with that they trailed off down the hallway to the kitchen.

"HEY DORA, I BROUGHT YOU ANOTHER FRIEND TO PLAY WITH!"

**XoXoXoXoXoXoXo**

An hour later Dora was still running rampant around the house, catching wasn't the hard part anymore, it was keeping her in one spot for more than a couple of minutes that was proving impossible. But James and Sirius were still schlepping round after her, desperately trying to convince her to go to bed. Peter was hindering more than he was actually helping, more chaos had been caused when the little nymph had taken his wand, twice, so Remus had taken Peter away and they were instead trying to put the house back to its original state. They'd righted the lounge chairs, sewn the ripped cushions, 'reparo'd the broken frames, vases, lamps and tables, and with a few 'scourigify's' they'd managed to get all the dried red paint off of the walls.

Considering the fact that Peter was pretty useless when it came to spells, Remus had done most of the work and so when he was finally finished he collapsed back into the chair in exhaustion. Peter dropped down beside him grumbling, still somewhat upset that a four-year-old had bested him twice. Remus just shook his head at his bumbling friend but it was then he noticed that Peter's grumbling was all that he could hear - everything else was silent. There was no excited shrieking sounds filling the air from young Dora, there were no heavy footsteps from James and Sirius chasing her, no curses or crashes – there was no sound at all. Remus' curiosity got the best of him and so he stood up and made his way towards the kitchen, Peter trailing along behind him.

As he walked into the entrance of the kitchen he discovered that the reason for the sudden silence of the house was because the little pink whirlwind they were meant to be looking after was nowhere in sight. Instead James and Sirius were sitting at the kitchen table, identical mischievous smirks on their handsome faces as they talked animatedly to each other.

"Ahem,"

Remus gruffly cleared his throat as he walked into the room and he shot them a questioning look when they glanced up at him, still smiling foolishly despite being caught off duty.

"Moony you have to hear about this great prank Prongs and I just thought up.

"Yeah, we're going to corner ol' Snivellus and pay him back for that horrid attempt at a prank he tried out on the last day of term."

"I'm sure Lily will be really impressed."

James, who had previously been bursting at the seams with excitement about their great plan, suddenly turned white as a ghost, his eyes bulging at the thought of the possible consequences if Lily found out. Sirius just simply rolled his eyes and leaned confidently back in his chair, a sly smirk crossing his dark features.

"We'll just do it when she's not around. I don't know why you're worried though Prongs, she already thinks you're an arrogant git."

"Yeah well that's going to change this year, I've got a plan."

James spoke with confidence whilst Sirius watched him sceptically. Meanwhile Remus let out an exasperated sigh.

"That's great Prongs but you're meant to be watching someone right now, where's your little cousin Sirius?"

"My, my – aren't we eager to see her."

A delighted smile returned to Sirius' face as he resumed his favourite pastime, teasing Remus.

"I'm serious, Padfoot."

"No, I'm Sirius," he pointed at his chest as he spoke, "and don't worry so much. We managed to coax her into playing a little game of 'hide and seek' and now look silence."

Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius' cavalier attitude as he watched him turn back to his conversation with James, without a second thought as to where his mischievous 4 year old cousin was.

"Uh Sirius, how long has she been hiding?"

"Bout 15 minutes."

Sirius answered the question casually and Remus couldn't help but sigh in frustration at his blasé friend.

"Don't you think maybe you should find her then?"

Sirius shook his head and started to refute the suggestion but he stopped when he saw the set, determined look on Remus' face and the pointed glance he was throwing him.

"Alright, alright – we'll find her. No need to get your knickers in a twist Moony, I swear you're such a woman sometimes."

Remus simply rolled his eyes at his friends' callous comment but it earned a slight snicker from both James and Peter. A satisfied smile stole over Sirius' face as their laughter fuelled his ego and he pretentiously raised his wand, lazily flicking it before uttering 'Accio Nymphadora'. He waited expectantly for her to be summoned, meanwhile Remus scrubbed his hand over his face in annoyance before using it to hit Sirius over the back of the head.

"You can't 'accio' another person Padfoot, don't you listen in class."

Sirius' eyes grew wide as he realised the propensity of his current predicament and he promptly stood up from his chair, sending it crashing to the floor behind him.

"Well that's fan-bloody-tastic innit! Now how are we s'posed to find her, she could be hiding anywhere in the bloody house."

"Calm down Padfoot, no need to be a 'woman' about it," Sirius glared at Remus whilst the others snickered along at the reverse jibe, "I don't think we'll have to look too far to find her."

With that he gestured down towards the floor and there, right where Sirius' chair was moments earlier, was a little fluffy purple clad foot. He lightly pushed Sirius out of the way and bent down, lifting the red tablecloth to reveal a sleeping little nymph under the table. She was lying on her side in the foetal position with one hand curled under her head, the other providing a thumb for her to quietly suck on. Her soft pink curly hair was now ruffled around her cute little face and Remus couldn't help but smile at the adorable scene before he grabbed one of her feet and gently slid her out from underneath the table. He quickly adjusted his position and picked the still sleeping little one up in his arms.

"Well aren't you just the regular knight in shining armour then."

Sirius was back to his usual haughty self but Remus just ignored him as he stood.

"Yeah maybe if you kiss her, she'll wake up."

"Now that would completely defeat the purpose Peter, considering we've been trying to get her to go to sleep for almost 2 hours."

Remus simply shook his head at his bumbling friend before walking towards Sirius and placing Dora in his arms. Sirius looked at the little girl in his outstretched arms quizzically, confusion furrowing his brow.

"What do you want me to do with her?"

Remus' eyes widened as he looked at his clueless friend, all the while thinking who in their right mind would leave him in charge of their kid. He closed his eyes and mentally counted to 10 before he responded.

"Go and put her to bed."

He ran a hand through his hair and let out a deep breath as he watched Sirius walk down the hall, grumbling all the way. When he had disappeared up the stairs, Remus turned and followed his friends back to the living room, transfiguring one of the settees into an oversized armchair. James meanwhile transfigured his into a comfy leather sofa whilst Peter, who wasn't very good at transfiguration, turned his into a beanbag. James and Remus laughed at him as he sat in it with a rustle, grumbling about his current predicament. Just when they'd gotten settled they heard a thudding on the stairs followed by an exasperated shout of "DORA" coming from Sirius before the little girl in question came speeding into the room.

"I don't wanna go to bed, I'm not sleepy yet."

And with that she sped across the room and, despite the fact that there were plenty of other seats in the room, she squeezed in beside Remus on his oversized chair.

"Moony mate, you're in."

A now smiling Sirius exclaimed as he walked into the living room and took a seat beside James, Remus just rolled his eyes.

"I thought you were going to put her to bed."

"You heard her, she's not sleepy."

Remus looked at his friend sceptically before glancing down to the little nymph who was now nestled beside him, her head drooping lower and lower, eyes slowly drifting shut but she still adamantly refused to fall asleep. No she wasn't sleepy at all.

"So tell us bout this prank for Snape?"

Peter asked the question eagerly but James and Sirius soon silenced him with death looks.

"We can't talk about pranks in front of her, Wormtail you idiot. Dromeda would kill me if I turned her into a little Marauder so early."

Remus put his hands protectively over Dora's ears to prevent her from hearing Sirius tirade and James let out a short laugh.

"Looks like you'd make a good dad Moony."

Remus just let out a bark of laughter and shot him an I-don't-think-so look.

"Nah you would be, you got good instincts and you're protective. I can't wait to be a dad, I reckon Lil's would make a great mum too. She can watch the little tyke while I'm off being an Auror."

Sirius laughed and pushed his friend lightly.

"Yeah you just have to convince her to go out with you then."

Everyone laughed at poor James expense but he simply smiled defiantly.

"Well at least I know what I want in life, what're you going to do Padfoot."

Sirius just smiled at his naive friend and relaxed back on the couch with his hands behind his head.

"I'm going to travel the world, sleep with a girl from every country. See you got it wrong Prongs, you don't just settle down with a girl straight out from school, you gotta play the field a little, have some fun."

James shook his head at his friend and instead turned the conversation back to Remus.

"What bout you Moony, what're you going to do?"

Remus just shrugged his shoulders at his friends question because he really didn't know what he was going to do. It was alright for James and Sirius, they had money and family names behind them, they could do anything they wanted but all he had was lycanthropy and he didn't think that was going to get him very far. He was saved however when Dora started to stir beside him and he decided to turn the questions away from him.

"Don't know, what are you going to do when you grow up Dora?"

Noticing that she was being included in the conversation, she sat up straight on the chair and pulled back a little to look at the kind man beside her, her cute little head tilting sideways as she observed him closely. Then with a very serious face, and a slightly sleepy voice, she said -

"I'm going to marry you when I grow up."

A bright smile lit up her face as she spoke the words so forcefully and then snuggled back up against Remus' side, closing her eyes contentedly. Knowing that her comment would simply fuel their fire , Remus simply leant back and rolled his eyes as Sirius and James both let out loud howls of laughter, Peter snickering along slightly on the ground. Sirius managed to choke out, "Well at least we'll be family mate" before he collapsed onto the ground holding his stomach as he was seized with infectious laughter.

Remus let out a light chuckle as well as he watched his friends and then he looked down at the adorable little one beside him, reaching a hand up to ruffle her soft little curls as she slept. He knew that Sirius and James would tease him relentlessly about this but he'd let them have their fun. She was young and innocent, there was no need to tell her that what she wanted at that moment was never going to happen, why spoil her dreams? Instead he stood, completely ignored his laughing friends in the background, and gathered the little girl in his arms before heading down the hallway and up the stairs to put her to bed, letting her dream of a future wedding to a handsome man.

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OKAY, that's the first chappy – whadya think? Personally I think it's a little long but meh!

LOVE IT/HATE IT – send me a review and let me know, I'll love you 4eva if you do :D

HUGZ N KISSES

EllaQueenB


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